Currency

On Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro made a much-anticipated address to the Venezuelan legislature in which he announced slight changes to monetary policies and the need to raise the extremely low cost of gasoline in the country. He also announced a 15% increase in the minimum wage and increased investment in education and housing.

Cory Fischer Hoffman looks at the pressures facing the Venezuelan economy and the questions raised by the decision of President Nicolas Maduro’s government not to adjust (devalue) the country’s exchange rate in the near future.

Today members of the government held a press conference to inform the public about the new system for buying foreign currency. Called the Complimentary System of Foreign Currency Acquirement (Sicad), interim president Nicolas Maduro said it aims to “overcome the parallel market”.